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What is now North Carolina has seen a variety of folk arts and crafts over the years, including paintings, pottery, wood carvings, sculptures, and even tombstones. Various cultural traditions can be found in the state, and some of these have been highlighted in this primary source set on folk arts and crafts.
Folklife and traditions like folk arts and crafts help people to form and define their identities and better understand how they relate to others. By examining folk arts and crafts, this source set aims to show the variety of folklife and traditions found in the state and asks us to examine our own relationship to folklife and each other. Below are some highlights of the types of folk arts and crafts that can be learned about in this new primary source set.
Folk music is one of the first examples of folk art and folklife that many people name. Recognized for their contributions to continuing folk music traditions, cousins Joe and Odell Thompson recount their experiences in this oral history transcript.
Another typical example people might think of would be pottery. Here, Aunt Sophie Campbell is smoking one of her clay pipes, which she would make and sell to tourists and hikers on the Appalachian Trail. People from both Western North Carolina and East Tennessee remember her as she lived along the border near Gatlinburg, TN.
Perhaps an atypical example, North Carolina has a tradition of folk art in tombstone carving. Tombstone makers took simple grave markers and created intricate ornamentation through images, embellishments, and long script carefully carved into stone. Here, Reverend Albert Clement’s granddaughters stand with his tombstone, an example of this folk art.
Photo of Dr. Abbie Clement Jackson and Ruth Clement Bond with their grandfather’s tombstone, contributed to DigitalNC by Davie County Public Library.
These primary sources seek to highlight a sliver of the folklife traditions around arts and crafts that people here have been developing. It also asks us to think more deeply about our own histories and what folk traditions mean to us today. Enjoy exploring some of the interesting folk arts and crafts that have been and continue to be practiced in our communities!
The twentieth century saw a rapid expansion of the wave of technological innovation that had begun in the late 1800’s. As our society is consistently generating new and advanced technologies, looking back to these prior advancements can be both nostalgic and informative of how we got to today’s age of smartphones and AI. North Carolina had its fair share of historical moments with innovation, from the first successful flight of an airplane in Kill Devil Hills to the creation of the home remedy staple Vick’s Vapo-rub in Selma, NC. Below are some highlights from the primary source set to spark your interest in 20th century technology!
Found on license plates across the state, North Carolina was the setting for the first successful flight of an airplane by Wilbur and Orville Wright. The full source from which this photo was pulled covers the journey to this flight and the various struggles the Wright brothers faced in their endeavor to take to the skies.
The 20th century saw a variety of technological advancement across sectors and professions, and this is another example of how transportation changed over time. From Asheville to Alamance County, electric streetcars became a new and exciting method of public transportation before the car was invented and public systems like this fell into decline. During their heyday, people across the state looked forward to riding on these new electric vehicles.
Looking further into this era, the late 20th century saw a more widespread adoption of computer use and training. While many people had been contributing to computer technology for many years prior, it was not until the 1990’s that computers were more readily available. It was during this time that schools began incorporating them into education with the knowledge that these machines would define American labor and education moving forward.
Nearly every historical point in the 20th century was impacted in some way by technological developments, from the Cold War and the Space Race to the Civil Rights Movement. This primary source set highlights some of the ways that technological innovations of the 20th century changed daily life in North Carolina. We hope this source set invites you to consider all the ways technology has shaped our history and your life today!
DigitalNC is excited to introduce a new primary source set on North Carolina foodways. From world-famous barbecue to special regional dishes like livermush, the Tar Heel State has a unique cuisine that many enjoy. More than being something for consumption, food has deep connections to the cultural traditions and social movements of North Carolina. The North Carolina primary source set explores how food has both influenced and been influenced by the state’s economy, politics, and culture.
Consisting of various written, visual, and audiovisual materials, the North Carolina Foodways set demonstrates key aspects of food history in the state through primary sources. The set also includes sections for context statements, background information, a timeline, discussion questions, and relevant outside resources. Here is a quick look at the North Carolina Foodways primary source set:
Whether it is barbecue, okra, or biscuits, food represents North Carolina and its people. The rich history and culture of the state are reflected through North Carolina’s unique cuisine, revealing how food plays a role in shaping community, social change, and state identity. Many foods are representative of North Carolina, but barbecue is one of the state’s most popular dishes. While the two main types of barbecue served in North Carolina are often a topic of debate, the beloved pork dish still brings people together through events like the Lexington Barbecue Festival. Similar public events celebrate other North Carolina foods, farmers, and restaurants. Multiple apple-themed festivals are held across the state, and native vegetables like ramps are celebrated in springtime events in western North Carolina. Although food festivals are an important way of bringing communities together, food can also create meaningful connections through the passing down of recipes from family member to family member, or through the creation of community cookbooks.
Food is also linked to North Carolina history and politics. The state has made several foods and food festivals official state symbols (e.g., the Scuppernong grape is the state fruit), but many of the bills introduced to create these symbols have been surprisingly controversial. Food is also rooted in inequality and social change. During the Civil Rights Movement, for example, Black activists like the Greensboro Four sat at “whites only” lunch counters to protest segregation laws in North Carolina and throughout the country.
Teachers, students, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about the foodways of North Carolina can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you would like to provide feedback on this set or others, please contact us here.
Quilting is the process of creating textile-based materials (e.g. blankets, clothing, etc.) and is distinguished by its use of three layers: a top layer of fabric, some type of internal batting (insulating fibrous material), and a back layer of fabric. Techniques include applique, where fabric designs are stitched onto the top layer of fabric; stitch design, where the three layers are stitched together so that the stitching creates designs on the quilt; and patchwork, where pieces of fabric are stitched together to form the top layer of fabric.
Quilting is a practice of both art and practical skill. Quilts have been used to warm loved ones, display artful technique, and stitch together stories and memories. What we see as an everyday craft uncovers social conditions and lived experiences of those who invested their time into their quilting. This new primary source set aims to provide insight to the experiences of people living in North Carolina, as well as appreciate the craft of quilting in both its artistry and utility. Some of the topics the source set covers is exploring rural life, Black and African American influence, and storytelling through quilts and materials about quilting.
This set contains many quilts and images to examine, but one of the interesting sources is an oral history given by Agnes L. Scott about growing up in rural North Carolina. She shared stories of how quilting played a role in her life and the connections between her and her neighbors due to the practice of quilting. Other sources in the set on rural living share a similar theme of community through quilting.
Black and African American Influence
Here, a quilt created by a member of the Bond-Speller family from Bertie County shows different patterned squares, as well as the influence that Black and African American quilters have had on the practice of quilting. This source and others point out the African influence in American patchwork, specifically regarding color and long, thin strips of patchwork. North Carolina quilts can give plenty of examples of this influence, amongst others.
Many stories are told through quilting, from community connections to what life was like for the quilter who created the piece. Some quilts, however, attempt to share an explicit story through the art of quilting. There are examples in this set, like the portion of a quilt shown on the left, that tell stories about history in North Carolina. For the quilt highlighted here, students created a quilt to share about prominent women and feminists in North Carolina’s history.
There are many aspects about life in North Carolina that can be divulged from the sources found in this set, giving us a glimpse into the everyday of people within the state. This primary source set aims to give information not only about the art and practice of quilting, but the lives and experiences of the quilters themselves. Please enjoy learning more about North Carolina history through quilting, and if you are inspired to join in the long history of quilters in the state, then happy quilting!
We have another new primary source set on DigitalNC. This new set focuses on the eugenics movement and selective sterilization in North Carolina, and is largely composed of newspaper articles and advertisements that discuss eugenics or sterilization. Other than the sources themselves, the set includes background information, discussion questions, outside resources, a timeline, and context statements for each source. Here’s a brief introduction to the Eugenic Movement in North Carolina set:
Eugenics is the theory that humankind can improve itself by selectively breeding out what are considered undesirable traits, while selectively breeding for what are regarded as desirable traits. Eugenics was first proposed by a mathematician, explorer, and anthropologist named Sir Francis Galton, whose ideas helped spread eugenicist thought and practices into widespread popularity, even in North Carolina. Through the early to mid-twentieth century, a practice known as sterilization played a key part in the state’s own eugenics movement.
Sterilization is a medical procedure that impedes a person’s ability to reproduce. Through sterilization, North Carolina prevented people who were considered undesirable from having children. “Undesirable” people included individuals with mental disabilities, who were often referred to as “mentally defective” or “feebleminded.” Eugenics supporters believed that the children of such people could inherit their “inferior” traits, causing a “burden” on the parents, the public, and the state. By sterilizing these individuals, they thought the burden could be eased. While groups like the Human Betterment League claimed that the procedure was done with the consent of the patient or their family, many individuals were forced or coerced into sterilization.
Official apologies for sterilization were made in 2002, but it was not until 2010 that North Carolina created a compensation plan for victims of forced sterilization. Victims received $20,000 as payment, but many have criticized the program for its eligibility requirements and for coming too late; by the time the program was established, many victims were thought to have died.
Teacher, students, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about the eugenics movement in North Carolina can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you would like to give us feedback on the sets, please contact us here.
New to DigitalNC is our primary source set on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which traces the history of this popular tourist destination from its initial creation and construction in the 1930s to the building of its final “missing link” decades later. The Parkway is a well-loved and widely visited attraction today, but its history shows that conflict, especially disputes over land and route planning, played a key role in preventing the Parkway’s construction.
The Blue Ridge Parkway set consists of various written (newspapers) and visual (photographs, maps, postcards) material to demonstrate the history of the road through primary sources. Other sections of this set include background information, context statements, discussion questions, outside resources, and a timeline. Here is a brief look at the primary source set for North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway:
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic road that stretches 469 miles across the states of Virginia and North Carolina. Since the 1940s, the Parkway has been a favorite destination of tourists, who travel the road to experience its mountain views and visit nearby towns and attractions. The project to create the Parkway was first funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1933. As one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies, the PWA was established to fight the impact of the Great Depression by providing funds to large public works projects where young men could find employment.
After the Parkway project received funding from the PWA, conflict over route planning began. The Parkway was meant to connect two national parks together: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Officials from North Carolina and Tennessee gave conflicting proposals on the Parkway’s route, giving way to a long fight over which proposal would receive approval. Other conflicts soon followed, most related to Parkway routes or land ownership. Eminent domain issues troubled Appalachian landowners; the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians fought against routes that would cut through important sections of their land; one businessman pushed back against a route that would impact his mountain tourist attraction, preventing the Parkway’s completion until 1987.
Although the Blue Ridge Parkway was created to connect two national parks, increase tourism in the region, and provide jobs for the unemployed, conflict played a part in preventing the achievement of these goals and in extending the Parkway’s construction.
Teachers, students, researchers, and anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you would like to provide feedback on the sets, please contact us here.
DigitalNC is excited to introduce a new primary source teaching set on Native Americans in North Carolina. While Native Americans have long inhabited the land that now makes up North Carolina, this set focuses on the group’s history from 1900 to the present day.
This set is composed of written (newspaper articles, poetry, theatre playbills, a school catalog) and visual materials (photographs, maps) sourced from our partners. Other sections of this set include background information, context statements, discussion questions, a timeline, and helpful outside resources. Here’s a closer look at the primary source set on Native Americans in North Carolina, 1900 to the Present:
Native Americans in North Carolina, 1900 to the Present
Time Period: 1920-2019
Today, North Carolina is home to eight state-recognized tribes, which include the Coharie tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, the Lumbee tribe, the Meherrin Indian tribe, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, the Sappony, and the Waccamaw Siouan tribe. Only one of these groups, the Cherokee, has received full federal recognition. While the Lumbee tribe received partial recognition in the Lumbee Act of 1956, they have since worked towards gaining full recognition through petitioning and forming committees in hopes of receiving the same benefits and funds as the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
The 20th century brought another source of change for Native Americans: education. Beginning in the mid-1800s, Native children in North Carolina and across the country were forced to attend segregated boarding schools led by white instructors. Students were banned from participating in their cultural practices and punished for speaking Native American languages, like Cherokee. In recent years, however, Native Americans like Robert Bushyhead have made efforts to protect the language by creating Cherokee courses at different North Carolina colleges and universities.
Just as Bushyhead worked to protect the Cherokee language, so too have other Native Americans worked to preserve their cultures and practices. While Native Americans across North Carolina have faced changes and challenges from the 20th century on, their communities have created poetry and art about their cultures, established Native American clubs on college campuses, and have shared and celebrated their practices in events like the American Indian Heritage Celebration.
Teachers, students, researchers, and others interested in learning more about Native Americans in North Carolina from 1900 to the present can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you like to provide feedback on this set or others, please contact us here.
This requested primary source set gathers reactions to the Holocaust and the oppressive and genocidal actions of Nazi Germany. Collected from newspapers across the state of North Carolina, these primary sources display a variety of reactions, ranging from condemnation to temporarily withholding judgement to thinly veiled support for the Nazi party. Some articles reflect on the United States’ own struggles with fascism and white supremacy, giving a warning to their readers of how easy it would be to escalate many Americans into violent action, especially with this country’s violent history. The discussion questions based on the set go from a basic comprehension of understanding the viewpoints represented to a deeper dive into historical and contextual analysis, directing us to connect these historical events to the present. Below are highlights from some of the newspapers included in the set.
This excerpt from the Bryson City Times highlights the pro-Nazi attitudes of U.S. Senator Robert Reynolds, shown by his rhetorical alignment with and support from Nazis in the U.S. and abroad. Reynolds, from Buncombe County, NC, had his speeches and stances endorsed by the German American Bund, a U.S. based Nazi organization. This article, originally from “The Hour,” was reprinted in The Charlotte News and then in the Bryson City Times. Here, we see both the sentiments of some North Carolinians that not only accepted but supported antisemitism, as well as the perspective of bringing these beliefs and those that hold them to light.
The Front Page (1979-2006) was an openly LGBTQ+ newspaper based out of Raleigh, NC. This article focuses on the denial and invisibilizing of gay and trans victims of the Holocaust and the global push to have the survivors recognized. Through this, we can see the perspective of groups of different identities that were persecuted by the Nazis working to have the scale of violence acknowledged, as well as how people in North Carolina felt connected to and supported these efforts. This article was published in 1980; the section of Germany’s penal code that the Nazis used and expanded remained in tact until 1994, and the LGBTQ+ vistims of the Holocaust were not recognized or given reparations until 2017.
In this issue of the Carolina Times, a historically Black newspaper published in Durham, NC, the paper covered an address by Mrs. S.W. Layten, the president of the women’s auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, where she advocated for Christian support of Jewish people and relief efforts for those suffering under Nazi occupation. She warns that if those actions of genocide could happen to Jewish people there, they could happen to Black and African American people in the US, calling for solidarity between oppressed people. This paper provides an example of open calls for support of Jewish people and a rejection of fascism from religious communities.
The entirety of the primary source set shows other examples of different perspectives from the beginning of the Nazi party’s rise to power in 1933 through the efforts to have the Holocaust and its victims and survivors recognized. Like with many issues, people in North Carolina show a wide variety of opinions and ideologies that accompany them. By delving into these reactions and opinions on the Holocaust, we can better understand that historical moment and our current political and social climate. To view more primary source sets that pull together resources from DigitalNC, please visit our Teaching and Learning page.
DigitalNC is excited to introduce a new primary source teaching set on urban development and renewal in North Carolina. While urban renewal impacted communities across the United States and North Carolina, this set focuses on how two neighborhoods in Durham and Raleigh experienced loss and displacement as a result of redevelopment. Additionally, this set discusses other community “revitalization” trends in North Carolina, such as the Finer Carolina contest of the 1950s.
Like our other primary source sets, this urban renewal set is made up of various written (newspaper articles, pamphlets) and visual (maps, scrapbooks, government records) materials. Other sections include discussion questions, outside resources, background information, and a timeline, as well as context statements for each item. Here’s a closer look at the Urban Development and Renewal primary source set:
The passing of the Housing Act in 1949 allowed the federal government to provide funding for cities across the United States to seize and demolish “blighted” or “slum” neighborhoods. “Urban renewal” was the term used to describe this process, as these programs promised to construct better housing, invite in new industries, and generally improve urban areas. Redevelopment programs often targeted neighborhoods with a high percentage of Black residents, many of whom were displaced as a result of urban renewal. Despite the positive assurances made to these communities, many areas never received the promises made by their cities’ redevelopment commissions. Low-income housing, revitalized business, and most other plans made never materialized, even many years after urban renewal began.
Despite the often harmful consequences of these programs, urban renewal generated a broader trend of redevelopment in North Carolina. In the 1950s, the Carolina Power and Light Company created the Finer Carolina contest, in which cities and towns across the state competed for cash awards by “beautifying” and making improvements to their communities. Although Finer Carolina programs did improve infrastructure and attract new industry in North Carolina towns, many contest scrapbooks show that historic buildings were destroyed in the process due to their “shabby” or “unsightly” appearances.
Teacher, students, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about urban renewal in North Carolina can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you would like to give us feedback on the sets, please contact us here.
Excerpt from the Carolinian on the origins of the Greensboro Sit-in. Contributed by the Olivia Raney Local History Library.
In addition to our recently developed WWII primary source sets, we are introducing two sets on the history of Jim Crow in North Carolina and a set centering on the community organizing in response to this racial oppression. Included in the source sets are 15 primary sources to explore, along with various discussion questions to kick start an analysis of the sources and additional resources related to the sets. These sets feature a variety of materials, including newspapers, photographs, oral histories, and films, among others.
The set also provides general background information on the history that led to the Jim Crow era of the South and a brief review of this time in history and the legacy of organizing for racial justice. Each primary source has received a brief context statement, some including links to learn further about specific events or people mentioned in the primary source. The sources can be arranged on a timeline with additional dates of major events mentioned in the background information and that were impactful for North Carolinians in relation to Jim Crow, Southern organizing, and life in North Carolina. Due to this, there is harmful and disturbing content and references to racial violence in these sources, please proceed with care when examining sources and see DigitalNC’s Harmful Content statement for further information. Below are brief description of each primary source set in this series.
Pictured is a classroom at the Hill Street School shared by two teachers in Asheville, NC. Contributed to DigitalNC by the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
This set covers the realities of life in North Carolina post-Civil War as the area transitioned from the Reconstruction Era to the Jim Crow South period. While the time post-Civil War did see some social progress, it also saw the rise of white supremacist groups and quickly building racial violence in response to the beginning of an integrated society. A stark example of this is Wilmington Massacre, extreme acts of white supremacist violence upon the Wilmington community in response to a newly elected interracial town government. This set features reports from historically Black newspapers, white-run newspapers, photographs, a scrapbook, and a poll tax receipt to show the lives and beliefs of people in North Carolina during the beginning of Jim Crow to the 1930’s.
This photograph of Bernice Sills Britt accompanied her oral history interview, which detailed her memories of growing up in rural North Carolina during Jim Crow. Contributed to DigitalNC by Braswell Memorial Library (Rocky Mount, N.C.).
A collection of photographs, newspaper articles, oral histories, a book, and blueprints show how Jim Crow operated in North Carolina during the 1930’s-1950’s. In addition to historically Black newspapers, this set provides records of segregationist efforts to divide public spaces, like with the park now known as the William B. Umstead State Park. Thew two oral histories included in this set describe the lives of people who lived through Jim Crow and they help us to remember the individual impacts of these racist policies and racial violences. They also describe how communities came together to withstand and push back during these times.
This photograph circa 1965 shows protesters against segregation and Jim Crow marching in Winston-Salem, NC. Contributed to Digital NC by Winston Salem African American Archive.
While the other source sets describe efforts during their time period for organizing against Jim Crow, this set focuses its attention on understanding the Civil Rights Movement in the context of the Southern Freedom Movement in North Carolina during the mid-1950’s to the early 2000’s. While many people think of the Civil Rights Movement as officially concluded, these efforts were part of a broader social movement for racial, economic, and social justice in the South, and that social movement continues to organize against white supremacy and racial violence today. This set includes videotapes, newspaper articles, photographs, oral histories, and a presentation on the conditions of this time, the individuals and organizations working for racial justice, and the legacy of these efforts. It also covers how Black liberation movements connect to other oppressed groups and social justice movements, like Indigenous communities and anti-war movements.
These primary source sets can be found on our resources page, along with our other primary sources sets and resources for teaching with primary sources, managing digital collections, and contributing materials to DigitalNC. Feedback on these primary source set can be submitted through our contact form.
This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.
![People are shown marching together as a demonstration in the street, in front of a public building. Signs are shown that read ‘Join our March For Freedom’ and ‘Black and W[hite] Together.’ Protesters are wearing business attire and coats.](https://www.digitalnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/wsaaa_civilrights_DSC01782-1024x694.jpg)
